Taking Care of Things
by odalys-ortiz
Summary: The second in the Choices series. A week after things were set in motion, Joss finally has enough evidence to confront Cal about the investigation that cost her a great opportunity. She doesn't plan on playing nice. A small bit of Carter/Reese at the end. Enjoy.


Disclaimer: Simply put, the idea is the only thing that belongs to me. Enjoy.

Taking Care of Things

The missing pieces had finally been put together. John had kept his promise and done some further digging. With the help of Finch, they uncovered quite a few startling facts about Beecher and his current activities. It had been merely a week after the rejection from the FBI and Joss had been keeping constant contact with John. This little side project of his he managed to juggle along with another number.

She helped them once again with it of course and she couldn't help but feel a bit more needed with John asking her personally again like nothing had really changed. She had gotten over what happened with the FBI, but as the saying goes. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorn. Joss wasn't merely scorn; she had experienced a roller coaster of emotions from being depressed to the point of tears to being outright angry at Cal.

She had managed to hide her emotion turmoil from Taylor who didn't know anything about Cal yet. She saw him off to school as she had every morning to make sure that he didn't worry her. Since he had a big test coming up, he decided to stay over a friend's house to prepare. Once again, she would be alone and that was fine with her for now.

She contacted Beecher the morning after he had called her. She didn't let him know about anything yet. She had acted cold to him at the precinct so she wanted a bit more time to get her information together before either confronting him or apologizing.

When everything was finally ready, John had asked her to meet him at the café that they frequented whenever they discussed cases. When she had arrived that morning, he was already there waiting for her at a table in the far back. When she sat down, she was greeted with a cup of black coffee, just how she always like to start her mornings. He knew her all too well and she couldn't help, but roll her eyes sometimes when he did this because he would tease her to change her methods.

With their usually greetings out of the way, they got down to business. He reached beside him and pulled out a folder that was about as thick as a small hardcover book. Placing it flat on the table, he slid it over to her for examination. Pulling back the flap of the vanilla folder, the first thing that greeted her was a mug shot of Beecher that seemed no older then a year old. On the page next to it, there was a long list of charges filed against him. He had things listed from police brutality on a suspect to sexual harassment of a fellow officer.

Turning the pages further, she saw something that caught her eye. In one report, there was a detailed analysis of a witness that had been murdered a few days before he was supposed to testify against a group of cops that had benefited financially from a drug bust. Evidence had gone missing and reports on the incident had been altered. Beecher was one of the arresting officers at the scene and it was this investigation that had flagged him as a concern during the polygraph.

There was a mountain of evidence against the men involved in the case and would have put them behind jail for a number of years. All that was needed to solidify the case was for the witness to testify, which he never got the chance to do. Satisfied with what she had in her hands, she was ready for her confrontation. She had made a date to see Cal at his place a few blocks from the precinct where he worked.

After the meeting with John, the rest of the day was business as usual filing reports and assisting the team. Once she was off the clock, it was the moment of truth. She took a cab straight from her precinct to his house. Stopping across the street, she looked down once more at the file that was in her gloved hands. Once she gathered her resolve, she made her way over to the door and pushed on the buzzer that was under his name. The multi story building looked like it had been on the block for ages, with evidence of different renovation periods on the exterior.

The buzzer rang moments later and she pulled on the door that was now unlocked, granting her access inside. In the hallway, there was a similar design where each floor harbored 4 separate units. She ascended the center staircase and went up to the second floor. She had remembered the way from her last trip here and she also recalled quite a few class characters from the other nearby units.

Her trip tonight was met with silence as she made her way to the unit label 2C. Gripping the vanilla folder a bit tighter, she tapped lightly on the hardwood door. She could hear shuffling soon after behind the door. She assumed that he was checking the peephole to confirm his visitor.

Soon after, she heard the undoing of locks then the door swung open. Beecher with a smile gracing his features stood on the other side. "Joss, I'm so glad you could make it. Come on in." When she stepped inside, he closed the door behind her. He was about to do the lock when she spoke up.

"You might want to leave that open. This isn't a social call and I'm not going to be here long."

His brow furrowed in confusion at her statement.

"I don't get it, what's going on."

She took a deep breath to collect herself. She had always done this when she reverted to that side of herself that few have seen. Just as John had the side of a professional killer while he was on the job, she was a no nonsense detective and interrogator that would make sure justice was served.

"The circumstances in this relationship have changed Cal." She said his name in a cold way, not even remotely the way she had used it when she was with him earlier in the week before. "I know about the investigation against you and your fellow officers." He was physically caught off guard. That was when she knew that he really had not intended on telling her anything about it. This silent truth encouraged her to continue further.

"I had to find out from the FBI about you when I was being polygraph for a position as a field agent. Do you know how it feels to be rejected for something that you had aspired to reach all your life because the person you thought you could trust lied to you?"

He put his hands up in a defensive manner. "Joss, it's nothing but fishing. They are just looking for something because of the reputation my captain has."

"Oh yeah" She fished through the folder until she found something to show him. She slipped the piece of paper out and held it up for him to see. "Well then what about the fact that your fingerprints were found on the safe that contained the money that would eventually go missing."

He quickly countered. "Oh course the money was catalogued into evidence like what was supposed to have happen. We were working on that case for months. Why would we risk jeopardizing the arrest? What the hell has gotten into you? Why would the FBI be telling you about my business?"

She reached in and took out another picture. "Your fingerprints were found on a safe that wasn't originally in the floor plans if my resources are right." She had no doubts that they were. John and Finch were usually correct when it came to information. If they weren't sure, they would double check. She ruffled through a few more papers. "This particular design was kept secret under the floorboards in the corner of the living room. The only people that knew about the area were the witness and his buddies."

She made her way to the kitchen counter and began pulling out different photos, displaying them for him to see. They were a variety of the angles from the same two scenes, almost like a flipbook. The first scene was of the safe inside the house and the second being the murder victim. The evidence was clear as day in the written reports, but she wasn't going to let him get away with it without him knowing the truth about his fate. Every time she would slam a picture on the table, she would gauge his reactions.

In her years as an interrogator, she had study body language like it was a college course. The human body could be just as much of an indicator of guilt as a confession from the criminal's own lips.

The pictures brought out a different reaction each time. He would begin to shift his legs, becoming more anxious. When she brought out a picture that pointed out the multiple areas where his fingerprints were, including areas that were never explored during the sweep, she could see him swallowing hard. John really had put in the time to make sure to capture every last bit of evidence so there would be no doubt.

The last few pictures were of the witness that was gunned down by a supposed rival gang outside of his home. "So when did you find out that he was going to rat you and your friends out? Someone told you? Did you get angry at him because you knew that he was going to spoil your little payday?"

She could see the defeat in his eyes. The evidence was more then enough to convince him that he was caught. Even so, he still tried to pull out whatever tricks he could. "Well Joss, how about if I take your little photographs and bits of bullshit evidence and get rid of it?" His mood changed from one of defeat to something darker. She had seen this before in men who were about to lose everything. "Why can't you just leave it alone baby? You get paid jack at your job anyway. I could help you out you know and let you in on the game. You won't have to worry about money ever again."

"Oh I know what you could do. You could do that but see the problem with that is that you are just like every other corrupted bastard that I've had the displeasure of meeting. Every last one of you believes that you can get away with anything if you just turn your head and accept money. You end up getting use to that kind of life and do whatever it takes to keep it. You disgust me." She dropped the entire folder on the counter and went to leave. Cal looked at it then back at her. "Don't you want you precious evidence? You came all the way over here to let me have it after all. You give such a damn about being high and mighty that you just can't see the real picture. Sometime you just have to make a choice, even if it's not the right one."

Defiant as ever, she would not let him get the last word. "A friend of mine took the liberty of sending a copy of everything to the FBI. Agent Moss informed me that he would be down to pay you a visit tomorrow." She opened the door and stepped out. Her eyes met his with a darkened glare. "Don't ever see me or come near me again Cal. If you do, I will do more then just arrest you. I don't like it when people lie to me and you don't want to see what I do to them. Good luck dealing with your choice" As she closed the door and walked away, she could hear the sound of things being smashed and destroyed behind her. A hint of a smirk tugged at her lips because she finally was able to get answers she was looking for.

Heading out of the building, her attention was drawn to a familiar lone figure across the street. "Of course I would have to expect that you would be here. Unfortunately, you're too late. You missed quite a show." She joined John, who was leaning against his newest ride. "Well I have no doubt that you gave him hell Detective." From the street, they could see Cal's window and the ruckus that was happening inside. "Remind me not to piss you off more then I usually do."

Her demeanor had changed from what it was inside. She had changed back to the person that she would be when she was around John. She felt more human with him there with her. She managed to get her answers and she couldn't help but a weight being lifted off of her shoulders. It wouldn't fix the issue with getting rejected, but that would be a minor setback. "Want to listen in?" Joss was about to discourage him for bugging the apartment, but the adrenaline from getting the answers that she sought, she decided to indulge him and enjoy the post show.

Pressing the button on his phone for the microphone, the commotion on the other end could have been heard blocks away. She could hear Cal rummaging through his apartment while trying to contact his men at the station to explain the situation. He thought that maybe there was a chance to escape, a chance to fix everything. She looked over at John and they shared a smirk, knowing that there was no chance.

"Thanks for going back to the scene and finding everything that they missed John. The stuff that I showed him pretty much left him dumbstruck." He shut off the microphone.

"That's one of the benefits about not following the rules Detective. You could thank me by allowing me to give you a ride back home."

She sighed. "You've really got to stop following me. I'm a cop John, not a damsel in distress or something."

He went around and opened the passenger door. "It's nothing but an offer from one friend to another. I doubt that you want to wait for a cab with it being as cold as it is."

She hated it when he was right. It was the middle of December and she wasn't too keen on waiting for however long it would take for a cab to get there. She followed him and stepped inside the car, which had been warmed ahead of time. He closed her door and went around getting inside himself.

The trip was a short one with Joss retelling the story of her confrontation to John to pass the time. Once they had arrived at her apartment, he parked the car. "So did you manage to wrap up the case you had?"

"Turns out our guy couldn't put up much of a fight. You can expect a deliver of at you precinct tomorrow."

She hesitated exiting, wanting to say more. Eventually, she sorted out what it was. "Thanks for helping me out with this. I know that this isn't your usual circumstances but I'm grateful that you took the time to run the extra errands for me."

"I wasn't lying with what I said to you before. You will get your chance. Soon enough they will be begging for you to work for them. Just give it some time."

She nodded, acknowledging that she would do just that. "Well I guess that I will see you tomorrow for another day of paperwork and problems."

"You know it Detective."

"Damn you. I swear if I hadn't changed my mind about you, I would have put you behind bars ages ago and saved me the headaches. Are you sure you don't want to have a career change?"

"Not really, this is much more fun and besides there are too many rules to follow with cops. Maybe you should jump sides. It's not too late."

"Goodnight John." She ended it just like that and exited the car once she made sure the coast was clear. Reaching the other side, she looked back to him one last time. Assured that she would be alright, he drove off, watching her walk inside in his rear view mirror. _All in a day's work_ he thought with a smile.

A/N: I just wanted to thank one person in particular, Destined627 for reviewing my other story. He/She told me that Carter seemed out of character a little bit and that inspired me to write this spur of the moment sequel. Thank you very much for your insight and I hope that this was more to your liking. FYI I still don't like Cal:D


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